Senate call to reveal mining tax earnings

Judith Ireland

The Senate passed a motion which orders the tax commissioner to release previously secret details of the new tax.

THE Greens and the Coalition have upped the ante in their bid to see the details of the amount raised by the mining tax. On Wednesday, the Senate passed a motion which orders the tax commissioner to release previously secret details of the new tax.

A spokeswoman for the Taxation Office said: ''we are currently seeking legal advice.''

The Greens leader, Christine Milne, has said she was told by the clerk of the Senate that it had the power to compel the commissioner to answer.

Senator Christine Milne. Photo: Andrew Meares

Forecast to raise $2 billion in its first year of operation, the amount raised by the mining tax has been a mystery since it came into force on July 1.

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The Treasurer, Wayne Swan, has said he does not know the revenue amount. He said he had Tax Office advice that disclosing the sum would breach the secrecy provisions. It would enable information about individual taxpayers to be ''ascertained by a process of deduction''.

On Wednesday, Senator Milne moved a motion that the Senate ordered the tax commissioner to reveal how much has been raised since July 1. It called on the commissioner to provide the details to the economics references committee no later than February 15.

The Coalition shadow assistant treasurer, Senator Mathias Cormann, had also planned to move a similar motion, but on Tuesday agreed to withdraw his motion and back the Greens.

Together, the two parties constitute a majority of the Senate.

Chris Jordan took over as tax commissioner on January 1. He is due to appear at a Senate hearing next week.

In moving the motion, Senator Milne noted it was in the ''public interest'' to release the total amount of revenue raised from the minerals resource rent tax, ''in order to provide confidence as to how the tax is playing out and the precise ways the revenue is collected''.

On Wednesday, following the Senate motion, a spokeswoman for Mr Swan said that the government wanted to broaden the transparency in the business tax system, including in relation to mining tax revenue. She said the government wanted to remove ambiguity in reporting requirements.